Denny Hamlin's Bombardier Challenger 601 returns to Concord after a 38-minute hop from Gainesville

Denny Hamlin's Bombardier Challenger 601, tail number N400DH, flew from Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport (KGVL) in Gainesville, United States, to Concord-Padgett Regional Airport (KJQF) on Thursday, October 22, 2026. The aircraft departed Gainesville at 16:08 UTC and landed at Concord at 16:46 UTC, spending 38 minutes in the air.

The departure airport, Lee Gilmer Memorial, has a longest runway of 5,496 feet at an elevation of 1,276 feet. The arrival airport, Concord-Padgett Regional, has a longest runway of 7,402 feet at an elevation of 705 feet.

The great-circle distance between the two airports is 166 nautical miles, or 191 miles. The aircraft averaged a ground speed of 262 knots and reached a top speed of 456 knots at a highest altitude of 19,000 feet. Celebplanes estimates the flight burned about 158 US gallons of fuel, producing about 1,522 kilograms of CO2, roughly the same as driving a car 3,767 miles. The Bombardier Challenger 601 is a midsize jet with a typical range of about 3,000 nautical miles and seating for up to 14 passengers, with a service ceiling of 41,000 feet.

In the 30 days before this flight, the aircraft made 14 flights totaling 25.1 hours in the air, producing an estimated 60,378 kg of CO2. The aircraft's estimated fuel burn is 250 US gallons per hour.

Before this flight, N400DH had landed at Concord 18 times in the tracking window from August 1 to October 22, 2026. The previous landing at Concord was on October 20, two days earlier. The aircraft's most common destinations in that window were Concord, Asheville (KAVL) with two landings, and Daytona Beach (KDAB) with two landings. In the 30 days before this flight, the aircraft visited 12 airports and flew about 10,197 nautical miles, with the longest leg being from Wadesboro to Las Vegas on October 2, covering 1,702 nautical miles.

Denny Hamlin is a NASCAR Cup Series driver based in the United States. The aircraft's frequent arrivals at Concord align with Hamlin's racing schedule and team commitments in the region.

The Bristol night race, a key playoff event, took place in September 2026, and N400DH was tracked landing at Tri-Cities Regional Airport ahead of that race, as reported by Celebplanes. The return to Concord after a short trip to Gainesville fits the pattern of aircraft movements tied to Hamlin's racing activities.

On the same day, the aircraft had flown from Concord to Gainesville in 32 minutes covering 168 nautical miles, then spent about 3 hours on the ground before the return flight. Two days earlier, on October 20, it flew from Teterboro to Concord in 1 hour 17 minutes covering 454 nautical miles, and from Concord to Teterboro in 1 hour 20 minutes covering 458 nautical miles.

The aircraft's 38-minute flight from Gainesville to Concord is a routine short hop, typical of the movements tracked for Denny Hamlin's Bombardier Challenger 601.